


opalescent

by notwit



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-19
Updated: 2018-03-26
Packaged: 2019-04-04 16:15:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,277
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14023938
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/notwit/pseuds/notwit
Summary: just some self indulgent writing. revolves around original characters mostly. incredibly messy and all over the place, drabbles that don't quite follow each other.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> i'm putting this in the cr fandom against my better judgement, hopefully i won't regret it. this is an incredibly self indulgent story that i've had in my mind for two years now. it began as a self insert story that i used as a coping mechanism during a rather up and down time in my life and i've now begun to expand on it and i've made the self insert into a full fledged character. the story is largely unbeta'd, so i apologize for any typos. this is all written mostly for myself so i haven't given much background on characters. for info on aridatha, [look through this tag](http://notwit.tumblr.com/tagged/dragon%20fam/chrono) (it also includes info on her father). zan belongs to [@menethiil](http://menethiil.tumblr.com) on tumblr. there will be minimal shipping in this story outside of established canon relationships and minimal fucking with large established plot points from the first campaign.
> 
> my writing style with this tends to end a bit abruptly between scenes, i'll come back and tie everything together more cohesively eventually. there are a few bits that might not make sense without background, again. sorry for that lmao. this is really just to get the ideas down in text, the writing is a bit all over the place. feel free to hmu on [my tumblr](http://notwit.tumblr.com) if you're interested in any of this. (also please yell at me if there are typos)

"Gilmore sent you?"

"Indeed, he did. He's asked us to bring you to him in Whitestone."

The young woman before them scrunches up her face into a scowl and crosses her arms. She looks to be a bit younger than Percival, barely in her twenties. Her hair is twisted into a braid, laying over her shoulder, and her eyes are a peculiar copper shade with flecks of gold around the pupils . She takes in a sharp breath before replying.

"Couldn't have come to say hello himself, hmm?" Her lip twitches into a frown and she avoids eye contact, staring at the ground instead. As she shifts around, Percy notices that there's a shine to her hair, it reflects back various shades of pink, purple, and blue.

"Well, dear, we aren't just here to say hello," Vex says from behind him before stepping to his side, "And he's a bit tied up at the moment….figuratively. I'm sure he would have come if he were able." The girl visibly relaxes at the sight of Vex, causing the half-elf to smile softly. "What's your name, dear?"

"Didn't even give you my name? What'd Shaun do, tell you to come here and just find a girl living alone?" She lets out a sharp laugh in disbelief, her arms dropping to rest on her hips. "It's Aridatha."

"He _did_ say that your hair would give you away."

Aridatha looks down to see a gnome peering up at her between the man and half-elf. She glances back up to them for a moment before pushing up onto her toes, looking past their shoulders.

"How many of you are there, exactly?"

"It's Scanlan, by the way," the gnome pipes up, giving a slight bow before pushing his way in front of the other two, "This is Percival Fredrickstein Von Musel Klossowski de Rolo III and Vex'ahlia."

"You did that solely to impress me, didn't you?"

"Absolutely."

Vex rolls her eyes at the two of them and leans toward Aridatha slightly. "Things have….well, they've gone to shit. Have you heard about the dragon attack in Emon?"

Aridatha seems to straighten up at that, her eyes widening in interest. "Dragons?"

"Well, that's gotten your attention," Percy comments with a small smirk. Vex rolls her eyes again before continuing.

"Yes, a group of dragons attacked Emon. One has remained there, the other three have flown off, most likely to attack other cities. Gilmore is currently helping to protect the city of Whitestone. He seemed convinced that you would be able to help."

"Help? Against dragons? I don't…know about that…" Aridatha responds quietly, looking away from them and moving a hand up to brush at her neck. Her eyes fall onto her collection of magic items, set up on display not far from her door. "I might have some items that could help but otherwise…"

"Items? Oh we could maybe take a look at those _but_ ," Vex puts her hands together in front of her, "Gilmore seemed worried about you. And I'm guessing that there's some sort of history and connection between you two. Whitestone would be the safest place for you right now and it would take a weight off of Gilmore's shoulders. Gods knows he could do with that right now."

Aridatha takes pause at that, frowning slightly before letting out a deep sigh.

"Alright, I'll come with you. Just…give me some time to collect some things."

* * *

"Tree travel, that's….actually quite impressive."

"Right?!" a half-elf druid--Keyleth, Ari had learned--steps out beside her but lingers by the tree the small group had just walked out of. She touches a hand to it, softly, practically caressing it. The look on her face is equally as soft, matched with a small smile. "Thanks, Sun Tree. I'll come visit you soon, alright?"

Aridatha raises a brow at her but turns to look at around the city that they've arrived in. A large number of the buildings seem to be under construction, with people milling around them, carrying various building materials.  A few people slow and stare as they see the group. She first assumes that it's because they just walked out of a portal on a tree but their gazes seem to linger on Percival.

"Oh, Grog!"

Keyleth has moved to Aridatha's side and waves an arm, staring ahead at a small group of people that surrounds a large goliath carrying huge chunks of stone for a building. He turns at the sound of her voice for a moment before looking down again and soon a horned head pops up over the crowd, looking in their direction.

"Wait….Zan?" She narrows her eyes slightly, unsure if the figure was her friend. But then again, how many tieflings were running around with Exandria with pink hair?

"You know Zan?"

Before Aridatha can even respond she's nearly tackled to the ground.

"Holy shit, Ari! It's been _ages_!" Zan gives her a tight (almost _too_ tight) hug before standing back, looking at her. "It's nice to see you out of Jorenn for once. Y'know I almost punched that Gilmore guy for you. I would have if--" The tiefling turns look at the Goliath that's walked up behind her, still carrying the stone as if it where nothing, "--big man here hadn't stopped me."

Aridatha looks up at the goliath, tilting her head slightly, before looking back to Zan, hoping to somehow telegraph the question of whether or not she had met the goliath before without actually verbalizing it.

"Wait," the goliath speaks up before Zan can, narrowing his eyes at Ari and bending slightly as if to get a closer look at her, "I know you."

Well, that answered that question.

"So! Anyways! Ari, this is Grog!"

* * *

"Whitestone is still recuperating from a rather hostile coup. Five years ago a group murdered most of my family and took control of the city. We've only recently taken it back. There's….a lot to catch you up on, I'll leave that to Gilmore. And perhaps you should meet my sister Cassandra, she's taken up leading the city."

Percival walks a few steps ahead of Aridatha, eyes straight ahead, focused and determined but even so she's stuck by how tired and young he looks. There's no way he's much older than she is. Vex keeps pace with him, glancing his way on occasion with worry in her eyes. Keyleth and Zan are at her side with Grog walking behind.

"Cass is nice," the tiefling says softly beside her, leaning towards her, "She's quite young but she doesn't act like it. Didn't really have a chance at childhood, I suppose."

"I can hear you, you know." Percy doesn't even bother to look back at them.

"Well, I'm not wrong am I?" He doesn't respond and after a moment Zan just gives a small shrug. "Gilmore is a bit…well, I don't see much of him. Don't really want to, honestly. From what I hear though he's still recovering from the dragon attack in Emon. He's also been working on….something big. I don't know the actual details, magical shit, you'll be into it."

"Oh! You still have to meet Vax and Pike!" Keyleth wraps her arms around one of Aridatha's, leaning into her as they walk. "Vax is Vex's brother. They're twins, hence the…y'know similar names. Pike is…well, Pike's wonderful, you'll love her. Everyone does."

"Pike's my little monster, she is," Grog laughs proudly, also leaning in (and down) towards Ari. She suddenly feels quite crowded.

"Perhaps I could…get settled in first?" Ari finally speaks, quite softly, small. She had lived on her own for so long she wasn't used to having people surrounding her like this. "This is a lot to take in."

Vex'ahlia finally speaks up, turning to look at her with a soft and comforting smile.

"Of course, darling. We're going to take you to Gilmore's and let you two have a bit of time to catch up and then we'll show you the castle and get you set up in a room." Aridatha gives her a small nod and they walk in silence for another moment before Vex begins again. "Actually, if it's alright with you, dear. I'd like to hear more about you...and your relationship with Gilmore. He's a dear friend and I can't imagine anyone disliking him but you seem to have....history with him and I'm rather intrigued. That could wait until tomorrow, of course."

* * *

They enter the small home Gilmore is staying at to see him sitting at a table with a man that looks strikingly similar to Vex. Aridatha assumes it's the twin that Keyleth mentioned, Vax. He has a soft look to his face as he looks at Gilmore, a hand gently resting on the sorcerer's shoulder. Gilmore looks tired. A shawl is wrapped around him there faint bruises on all of the skin visible to her. His hair is pulled into a messy bun with stray locks framing his face. He looked nothing like the jovial man she remembered from her youth. For a moment Aridatha feels terrible for ever being upset with him.

Vax'ildan looks up at them, a slight expression of shock and embarrassment as he quickly pulls his hand away. Gilmore just lets out a soft chuckle.

"Welcome, friends. I would prefer it if you…knocked…next time." Gilmore starts strong but his voice falters as he looks up and notices Aridatha. He simply stares at her for a moment, she notices that his eyes begin to water slightly, before clearing his throat. "Perhaps, ah-"

Before he can finish his sentence, Vax stands up from his chair, crossing the room to the group. He stops in front of Ari, taking her in momentarily before glancing back to his sister. Vex lets out a soft sigh before reaching around and grabbing him by the arm, pulling him out of the door.

"We'll let you two talk, yeah?" she says and begins to pull the rest of the group away from the door.

Zan remains at Aridatha's side though, arms still loosely wrapped around one of her's. She looks up at her friend questioningly. Aridatha gives her a small smile and pats her hands.

"Come back in an hour or so," she says softly. Zan frowns but gives her a small nod before pulling away and stepping out, closing the door behind her.

Gilmore was already up and bustling about, making an second cup of tea for her. She watches him for a moment. He has a slight limp as he moves and his movements seem slow and deliberate. They had told her that he was recovering from the attack in Emon.

"Shaun…" She walks over to him, placing a hand on his back gently. "You don't have to-"

"I shouldn't have left you."

Aridatha tenses, the hand on his back clenches slightly before she forces herself to relax it again. She bites her lip and closes her eyes, taking a deep breath. Now wasn't the time for anger.

"You're right, you shouldn't have. But you did and you can't undo that. We can discuss that later though. For now, I need to know what's going on."


	2. Chapter 2

"You can't hide in here forever, you know."

"Yes I can."

"He'll eventually just come in here after you…or Gilmore will come try to talk to you. Or your...dad will. That's weird to say, your dad. Letherii? That dragon fuck that's been trying to kill Gilmore the past couple months?" Zan sits beside Aridatha on her bed, pulling her tail to her side and letting it wrap around to rest on her lap. "Well, to be fair to him, he was corrupted by an archfey."

"It's still weird though," Ari mutters, dragging a hand over her face before turning to face her tiefling friend. "Like I'm not just being ridiculous right? I've never known him, I mean hell, I'm still coming to terms with the whole dragon thing…and now…he's here. And he's my father. And he tried to murder Shaun."

"Oh, hell yeah, it's weird as shit," Zan laughs as if it's obvious, "But I mean, you've still gotta talk to the guy. Or at least get out there and punch him. You've gotta do something. Hell, I'll go punch him if you want me to. I'll punch him even if you don't want me to."

"No, don't punch him…"Ari lets out a long sigh before standing and beginning to pace in front of the bed. Her arms are crossed and she's practically glaring at the floor, obviously stressed over the situation. Zan rolls her eyes and leans back slightly.

"I'm gonna punch you if you don't get on with it."

Aridatha pauses her pacing and looks over at the tiefling, still with narrowed eyes.

"You wouldn't."

"Oh, I absolutely would. Now, go talk to your dad. Or your dads. Or both of them. Hopefully they aren't still arguing."

"Fine, fine. I'll go talk to them."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> something short. written back in january lmao. i've been meaning to go back and write some interactions between leth and gilmore because it would be...interesting. am i projecting my own daddy issues onto aridatha and her relationship with leth? hmmmst Maybe.


	3. Chapter 3

Aridatha felt the slight tug on her robe before she saw a small figure rush out the door behind her. With a small huff she drops the book she was looking at, giving a quick apology to the shop keeper, and rushing out of the door. There's a small pang in her chest and her breath catches for a moment.

" _Damn it_."

Whoever it was they had swiped her soul ring from where he had tied it to the side of her robe. Glancing to her side she realizes that they had indeed cut the ribbon it had hung from, meaning they had probably taken the few other magical rings she had tied with it. Luckily for her, she could track the ring.

She weaves through the sparse crowd in the street, dipping into a couple alleys, letting her senses guide her. After a few moments she hears a quiet voice and slows down, staying by a corner and listening.

"Ohhhoho, look at them! They're so shiny, I've really done it now. Caleb is going to be so proud!"

She glances around the corner, her eyes narrowing slightly at the figure, seemingly talking to themselves. They were small, halfling, perhaps? Maybe even a child. Quietly she steps out, walking towards the figure while they're distracted by their pickings.

They let out a shrill yelp as Aridatha suddenly crouches and grabs the back of the figure's robe.

"Alright," she begins and the figure thrashes in her grasp. One hand reaches back and claws at her, causing Ari to recoil her hand with a quick intake of breath. The figure whips around, face partially obscured by a hood and mask but eyes visibly glaring, pointing a finger at her.

"I didn't do nothin' to you!"

Aridatha tilts her head with an annoyed look before lurching forward, grasping the robe again, tightly. Before the stranger can react she puts her other hand up between them, displaying the claws that now extend from her own fingers. The stranger recoils as far as they can in her grasp, eyes now wide.

"I have claws too, so watch your own," Ari drops the hand and loosens her grip slightly, "Can I trust you not to run?  It would be _very_ bad for you if you run." There's a small squeak and the stranger nods vigorously before she releases them. "Now. You stole something from me. A few things. But one item that you took is very precious to me. In fact, if I don't have it with me I can get very sick. I would like to have what you took back."

"I--" The stranger looks at her and then back down to their clenched fist, opening it to show the rings she had cut from Aridatha's robes. "Oh, but they're so pretty and shiny. Can I just…give you the one? If you _need_ it then I should give it to you, shouldn't I? But they're all so nice, I could surely keep the rest, couldn't I?"

Aridatha has to stifle a laugh but can't stop the small smile that comes across her face.

"Tell me, what's your name?"

"Nott," the stranger replies almost shyly after a moment.

Aridatha reaches into the bag slung across her shoulder and pulls out a few small scales. They're mostly white but have an iridescent shine to them that reflect pinks and purples in the light. Nott's eyes immediately light up as she sees them.

"How about I give you these and you give me the rings back? They're quite beautiful and I have a practically endless supply of them."

"Ohhhh," Nott moves closer, staring at the scales, putting a hand up and running a finger along the edge of them before looking up at her, "Are they real? You aren't trying to swindle me are you?" As Nott looks up to her though, Aridatha can see past her hood and she realized that beneath bandages covering her skin, Nott's skin is a peculiar shade of green. She pulls her hand back slightly, tilting her head curiously.

"What are you, little one?"

Nott immediately recoils from her, yanking her hand back and pulling at her hood, tugging it down to cover her face and attempting to stammer out an explanation. Before she can get much out though they both hear quick and heavy footsteps rushing up to them from behind Nott. Looking up, Aridatha sees a man coming towards them. He looked…rough, to say the least. A tattered and dirty coat covering equally tattered and dirty clothing. His face was tired but his eyes were intense and worried. He moved quickly and with purpose, as if he was ready for this to become a fight at any moment, but he also looked like he could collapse from exhaustion at any moment.

"Excuse me, _what_ are you doing with my daughter?"

Aridatha levels him with a look of equal disbelief and amusement as he comes to a stop directly behind Nott who jumps at his voice.

"O-oh, yes. Father! This woman has been--"

"This is absolutely not your daughter, don't lie to me," Ari interrupts, standing and placing her empty hand on her hip. "Listen. I don't care what you two are up to, why you feel the need to lie or why you--" She looks down to Nott and holds out the scales again "--feel the need to hide yourself. I just need my ring back. And these _are_ real, I can throw in a few more if you really want. Hell you can even keep the other rings."

The man's demeanor shifts, his shoulders drooping slightly as he looks down at Nott, who looks back up at him with wide eyes.

"I couldn't help it Caleb, they were so shiny and so… _out there_ , right in front of my face, I couldn't _not_ take them."

He lets out a sigh before looking back up at Aridatha.

"I'm sorry about my friend. She can have a hard time controlling herself but…she means well. Nott, give the rings back."

Nott lets out a strangled sound of disbelief and hesitates for a moment, gazing longingly at the rings in her palm before holding them up for Aridatha, keeping her eyes towards the ground. Aridatha smiles at the sight and reaches down, plucking the silver and opal ring from her hand and placing the scales over the rest. There's a sense of warmth that floods through her chest as she holds the ring again.

"Thank you," she says softly after a moment, sliding the ring onto her finger, "I'll take this as a lesson that I shouldn't be quite so careless with something so important." When she looks back up, Caleb is staring at her in disbelief and Nott is staring at the scales in her hands.

"Are…you sure that you don't want the other rings back?" Caleb asks slowly, "I don't…want any trouble if anything--"

"I'm positive," Ari quickly assures him with a chuckle, "They weren't getting any use from me, I just thought they were pretty but…well, you two look like you could use them a bit more than me. A couple of them have minor enchantments so you could sell them for a bit of gold if you'd like." Before Caleb or Nott could respond (the tiny goblin was too busy staring at the rings to even think of replying) the woman suddenly perks up, looking back towards the entrance of alleyway. Caleb watches as she pulls out a small stone from her pocket, ignoring (but definitely noting) the fact that Nott pushes a few rings into his own pocket. After a moment Aridatha seems to come back to reality, turning to them with a small and almost apologetic smile.

"Sorry, I've gotta run. I have a friend waiting for me."

And with that, she walks away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> me: i'm not gonna include anything from the second campaign in this  
> also me: fuck that


	4. Chapter 4

Aridatha doesn't remember much of her childhood before the age of ten. The one time she had mentioned that fact to Gilmore he had paused for only a moment as he worked her hair into a braid. She had waited in silence as he twisted the braid into a bun and pinned it in place.

There were a lot of things that Aridatha didn't know about Gilmore. There were a lot of things that she didn't know about herself. One of the few things that she did know was that Gilmore was not her father. Her "real" father at least. He had never said anything to her about her parents and she had never asked. She had never really thought to ask. Gilmore had always acted as a perfect, attentive, and present father figure and the young girl had never wanted anything more than that.

Finally, there's a quiet hum in response.

"Perhaps I should be a bit more careful with the magical items I carry around you, I do believe I have one or two that affect memory…" His voice was soft and warm, caring. It immediately eased Aridatha's mind and she put the thought of any lost memories away, completely oblivious to the fact that his pause had been time needed for Gilmore to come up with a plausible lie to tell her.

He knew he would have to breach the topic of Aridatha's origins at some point but telling a young girl that she was once a dragon and you tore her soul in two was…a difficult thing to find an appropriate time for. His hand instinctively goes to the opal studded ring on his left hand's middle finger, twisting it as he thinks back on the years where her dragon blood would occasionally rage throughout her as if a slumbering beast had been awoken. It was something he had prepared himself for but all of the preparation in the world couldn't ready him for late nights of cradling a writhing, sobbing child as an old soul within fought for the control that was due to it.

It was probably for the best that she didn't remember.

It _was_ for the best that she didn't remember.

* * *

Gilmore never did tell Aridatha why there were gaps in her memory as a child. Even after he abandoned her and even after their reunion years later. He never told her and she never asked. Even as she became more aware of her true identity and tapped into her true potential as a dragon.

In all fairness, they were both quite busy at the time. Gilmore worked tirelessly with Allura to keep Whitestone hidden and safe from the threat of the Chroma Conclave and Aridatha worked tirelessly to improve her arcane abilities and get in touch with her inhuman side. There wasn't much time to discuss their past, to discuss her abandonment, her creation, and his critical role in it all.

During her downtime, Aridatha would visit Gilmore but still, they rarely spoke about their past. She would brew tea for him as he had done so often for her while she was young and they would sit together in silence, exhausted. Occasionally, they would be joined by members of Vox Machina between their excursions to hunt for Vestiges. Zan was the one to visit most often. Vax never seemed to visit when Aridatha was around, Aridatha had the feeling that he felt a bit awkward around the two.

"Aridatha?"

She breaks her steady stare into her cup of tea to glance up at Gilmore. He's leaning back in his chair with a purple shawl draped across his shoulder, his hair loosely pulled back into a ponytail, a few strands framing his face. There are dark circles around his eyes and she's sure that she has matching circles around hers. She hums in response and returns her gaze towards her tea.

"It's going to get cold," he comments with a slight chuckle. There's no response and they return to silence for a few moments before Aridatha exhales a deep breath and straightens up in her seat, looking directly at Shaun.

"How is it that I ended up in your care?" She only holds eye contact for a few seconds before looking away and leaning back into her chair, arms crossed. "I mean…I'm a dragon. I…was a dragon, my soul was torn in two. It sounds ridiculous…"

Shaun takes a deep breath and leans forward, placing his own cup of tea on the table and taking great interest in it.

"I…now may not be the time to discuss that. After the dragons are taken care of perhaps…"

He's barely finished with his sentence before Aridatha has walked out of the door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hmm. how do you tell the girl you raised as a child that you took her from her home and split her soul in two?  
> aridatha is losing her patience with being treated as if she's made of fine china.


End file.
